A lot of the cluing is straightforward but there were a few I did very much like: 2dn is a great cryptic def, 24dn everybody’s favourite type of clue where the definition is punctuation, 4dn is a superb anagram and I liked 9dn because I live in Alameda County. But 24dn gets my COD nod I think.
Thank you setter!
Definitions underlined in italics, (ABC)* indicating anagram of ABC, {} deletions and [] other indicators.
Across
1 Woman wrapping a sort of porcelain bird (8)
FLAMINGO – FLO wrapping A MING
5 Generous offer to retired judge securing whiskey (6)
TWOFER – TO + reversed REF, securing W
9 Medication supplied by a police department worker perhaps first (7)
ANTACID – A C.I.D., ANT first
14 Sport Alicia developed, devoted to fishing (11)
PISCATORIAL – (SPORT ALICIA*)
15 Regret accepting delicate material primarily meant for substitution (11)
REPLACEMENT – REPENT accepting LACE M{eant}
16 Is it not commonly a lodging-place with appeal? (5)
INNIT – INN with IT
17 Baroque composer my girl briefly identifies (7)
CORELLI – COR [my!] + ELLI{e}
18 One speculates over blocking particular part of stair (9)
THEORISER – O blocking THE RISER
19 Report of fellow not so lacking in colourfulness (7)
HUELESS – homophone of HUE + LESS
20 It identifies something specific? Sure thing (8,7)
DEFINITE ARTICLE – DEFINITE [sure] + ARTICLE [thing]
22 Principal items of bedding sometimes used on sailing vessels (10)
MAINSHEETS – or MAIN SHEETS
23 Join with enthusiastic females at first, and gush (6)
EFFUSE – FUSE with E{nthusiastic} F{emales}
25 Time not a single person gives up MDMA (4)
NOON – NO-ONE gives up E
28 Funny about men with sons oddly showing practical wisdom (14)
COMMONSENSICAL – COMICAL about (MEN + SONS*)
30 Composer possibly going about church in heatwave (8)
SCORCHER – SCORER going about CH
32 Former publication initially allowed to be bawdy (8)
EXPLICIT – EX P{ublication} LICIT
34 Learning about her acts, agitatedly examining own feelings (5-9)
HEART-SEARCHING – HEARING about (HER ACTS*)
37 Part of opera in which woman is beheaded (4)
ARIA – {m}ARIA
38 What youth leader accommodates paintings of a crude nature? (6)
EARTHY – EH? Y{outh}, accommodating ART
39 Eg pigeon enthusiasts keeping trendy gnomes (10)
FINANCIERS – FANCIERS keeping IN
43 Lacking status in spite of everything (15)
NOTWITHSTANDING – NOT WITH [lacking] + STANDING [status]
45 Here begins chapter one, page one, in current set of books (7)
INCIPIT – C1 P1 in I N.T.
47 Device driving ship, suitable for touring European lakes (9)
PROPELLER – PROPER touring E L L
49 Board in Parisian school (7)
ENTRAIN – EN [in, in French] + TRAIN [school]
51 Become confused, seeing theologian overcome by drink (5)
ADDLE – D.D. overcome by ALE
52 Politician breaking Irish law I briefly dub unrealistic (11)
IMPRACTICAL – MP breaking IR ACT + I CAL{l}
53 Strand property ultimately built with alacrity (11)
THREADINESS – {buil}T {wit}H READINESS
54 Entertain, offering port (7)
HARBOUR – double def
55 Fat English king’s place for storing food (6)
LARDER – LARD [fat] E R
56 Framework of ode finally penned by Tudor court poet (8)
SKELETON – {od}E penned by SKELTON (John, c.1460–1529, tutor to Henry VIII)
Down
1 Work quietly dividing seafood, like a dandy (7)
FOPPISH – OP P dividing FISH
2 A charge that’s inappropriate for the present? (11)
ABSENTEEISM – cryptic def. One cannot accuse someone of absenteeism if they are always present
3 Unsuitability of fashionable head drinking a pint (9)
INAPTNESS – IN NESS drinking A PT
4 County changing ends of council house register (15)
GLOUCESTERSHIRE – (C{ounci}L HOUSE REGISTER*)
6 Aspect of nature, one Lord Liverpool originally introduced to spouse (8)
WILDLIFE – I LD L{iverpool} introduced to WIFE
7 Far-off Nigeria’s complex overseas relations (7,7)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS – (FAR-OFF NIGERIA’S*)
8 Opera company employee regarding small ancient city (10)
REPETITEUR – RE PETITE UR
9 A Buddhist monk embracing top journalist in tree-lined walk (7)
ALAMEDA – A LAMA embracing ED
10 Belonging to those people in that place, so to speak (5)
THEIR – homophone of THERE
11 Loosely woven material possibly used around Leicester? (11)
CHEESECLOTH – cryptic def; not the place Leicester but Leicester cheese
12 Retired man slipped up, being discouraged (8)
DETERRED – reversed TED + ERRED
13 Fulminate over this retailer of pork pies (4)
LIAR – reversed RAIL [fulminate] – a teller of lies (Cockney rhyming slang)
20 Devoted pet possibly carrying can (6)
DOTING – DOG carrying TIN
21 Like Hindu movement’s instant riches? Not entirely (7)
TANTRIC – hidden in {ins}TANT RIC{hes}
22 Debunkers may take it for a celluloid mouse (6)
MICKEY – double def
24 Misguidedly mix and talk on camera! (11,4)
EXCLAMATION MARK – (MIX + TALK ON CAMERA*)
26 Top academic’s opportunity to stop corruption: set up register (4,10)
VICE CHANCELLOR – CHANCE, stopping VICE + reversed ROLL
27 Black floor coverings seen around east European city (6)
BRUGES – B RUGS around E
29 Old European capital starts to maintain its Japanese craft (7)
ORIGAMI – O RIGA M{aintain} I{ts}
31 Inquiring how Olivier appeared in Richard III (6)
ASKING – AS KING
33 Airborne soldier’s accepted standard, a staunch colleague, they say (11)
PARATROOPER – PAR, A TROOPER
35 Dash in in hurry? Mostly unsuitable (11)
INEXPEDIENT – EN, in IN EXPEDIT{e}
36 Like rhetoric or logic principally involving parts of Croatia (10)
ORATORICAL – OR L{ogic} involving (CROATIA*)
40 East End mate, male, about to draw parrot (9)
COCKATIEL – COCK, AL about TIE
41 Irritable foreign character in photo, Sarah’s first husband (8)
SNAPPISH – PI, in SNAP S{arah} H
42 Wrongly identify thin fog — it upset the Spanish (8)
MISTITLE – MIST + IT + reversed EL
44 Ultimately foolish senior citizen losing daughter’s leather case (7)
HOLSTER – {foolis}H OL{d}STER
46 Time and justification for crime against the state (7)
TREASON – T + REASON
48 Source of inspiration provided by lecturer at Oxford (5)
ERATO – hidden in {lectur}ER AT O{xford}. The muse of erotic poetry and mime
50 Live outside key Israeli port (4)
ACRE – ARE outside C
Edited at 2022-03-20 07:04 pm (UTC)